Of Nightmares and Little Brothers
by iamtryN
Summary: In response to a ANCon challenge given by xenascully. Dean has a nightmare and Sam has to fix it...


**Disclaimer: **Don't own... love to play though... smiles while waving wildly!

**ANCon SUPERNATURAL Challange from Xenascully, **** a challenge that will appear in a voting poll in june! **(you can find information under xenascully FB page and then from there access AN site.)

**Want**: Dean has a horrific nightmare. Sam is there to pull him out of it. But Dean is shaken to the point that he needs comforting from Sam (though, of course, he'd refuse to admit it)

**NOTE#1: **My hubby was nagging me to hurry and post... I did and now reading over this _one more time_ I have mistakes, I'm going to correct them and repost... Sorry guys!

**Of Nightmares and Little Brothers**

The motel was the same as all the others. A little bit trashy, a little bit old and real cheap. Just their kind of place. Especially when Dean had taken a header into a stagnant tank of god knows what, out cold before he ever hit the still gunk. Sam had dove in to get him back having to do the whole… _don't you dare leave_ as he forced his brother back into the land of the living.

He hadn't been in the mood for his brother's feeble attempt of making light of the whole situation. The facts were they should have left the shit alone and walked away. But they hadn't and now Dean was more than likely going to come down with God only knew what after inhaling half that tank of crap.

So he was feeling more than a little bit pissy when he pulled Dean's baby into the parking lot where they already had a key for room 11. He rammed the impala into park and slammed the key off. Ranking the key out he was stopped by a hand on his wrist.

"Man… _easy on her_. She's been nothing but good to you." Dean whispered before letting go and turning to reach for the door handle.

He stared after Dean as he opened his door and pulled himself out. Sam shook his head as if to clear it before shoving his own door open. He pushed the lock down and slammed the door shut. He then opened the back door and pulled out the weapons bag and then locked and shut that door as well.

Then he met Dean at the door where he was fumbling with the key and the lock. He took the key and unlocked the door as Dean muttered something about not being a baby.

Sam stared at him a few seconds before he was once again shaking his head as he followed his brother into the room, closing and locking the door behind him.

Dean started to lie down on the bed nearest the door when Sam instead dropped the weapons bag there and pushed him towards the bathroom. "Shower first and then bed."

Dean whined as he protested, "I'm tired Sammy."

"I know." Sammy said simply as he walked Dean into the bathroom and gently pushed Dean onto the toilet to sit as he went to set the water temperature of the shower and then back to help Dean. He reached out and grasp the lower rim of Dean's t-shirt only to have him smack at his hands as he snapped out indignantly, "Dude, what the hell?"

Sam sighed out before he said, "You need to get out of these and then while you shower I'll get us clean clothes and then you can change and go to bed.

Dean studied him before giving a slow nod as he mumbled, "Okay."

Sam raised an eyebrow in surprise at the lack of argument, a testament to just how tired Dean really was.

Five minutes later Dean was in the shower and Sam was rushing around the room. He salted the exits, got his and Dean's clothes out and placed on the bathroom counter and the beds readied for sleeping. He'd also set the med kit out because he was checking Dean over whether he liked it or not.

Then he met Dean in the bathroom when he'd just covered parts Sam would rather not see with his boxers.

"Dude… really?" Dean growled. Obviously feeling better after his shower he was protesting Sam's look of intent, "Dude." he said again, "You are filthy. Don't touch me." He snapped swatting at the hands again.

Sam smiled as he looked Dean over he commented, "I'm looking you over for injuries after my shower so don't try to weasel your way out of it."

"I'm far from a weasel… more like a fox." Dean stated with a tired grin grabbing his other clean clothes and walking out of the bathroom.

Sam took the quickest shower in the history of showers and tumbled out of the bathroom door and into the room.

He wasn't really surprised that Dean was already asleep on the bed closet to the door. He told himself that he half expected it as Dean's way of escaping the twice over and subsequent first aid that Sam would insist be administered.

He huffed as he pulled on his pants and smiled at how young Dean looked when asleep and _not_ having a nightmare. He went over and quietly and gently so he wouldn't wake Dean ghosted his hands over him. He smiled as Dean shivered at the feather light touch but remained asleep.

He set the alarm on his phone for an hour after he determined that Dean was okay except for the knot on the side of his head. He hadn't seen any signs of a concussion so far but he wanted to make sure there wasn't one. He lay down to wait and almost immediately dozed off.

He was startled awake by rough breathing. Raspy gasping gulping as if someone was being chased and was getting winded from running.

It took him a few seconds to get his bearings as he realized where he was and who he was suppose to be watching. Checking the clock he was surprised it had only been about half an hour since he had fallen asleep. As he listened to Dean a few seconds longer he realized Dean was starting to wheeze as he seemed to gasp for air.

He jackknifed upright as he surged off the bed and over to Dean's. Sitting down next to him he brushed a hand lightly across his big brother's cheek as he smiled gently down at him.

Dean frowned in his sleep. I clear sign that he was dreaming. Then the twitching began, slight at first but gaining momentum as Dean started to shake, reaching a hand out towards something above. Suddenly Dean was bolting straight up as he pushed Sam back and leaned over the edge of the bed and reached down at something only he could see.

"NO!" Dean screamed before trying to tumble off the bed.

Sammy circled his arms around Dean and tried to pull him close. "Dean, you're okay. I got you now." Sammy whispered in a comforting tone.

Dean said, "Sammy." with such a heart broken half sob that Sam's hand was instantly brushing against Dean's cheek as he held him close whispering in his ear hoping that his voice would soothe his big brother. He was shocked when his hand met a stray tear running down his cheek. He laid him further down in his arms so he could see Dean's face.

Dean continued to sob in his arms, alternating between trying to escape and burying his face in Sam's t-shirt.

"D, come on, man. Take it easy. I'm right here." Sam murmured gently.

If Sam had at that moment been able to see what his big brother was seeing he would have shaken him awake and out of the world he was trapped in. _HIS. PERSONAL. NIGHTMARE. The thing he feared the most. _But he couldn't so he was unaware of just how bad what was going on in his brother's head was tormenting him.

"No, no… nononononononono…" Dean started chanting as he screamed out, "Sammy!" wrapping his arms around Sam's waist and sobbing brokenly.

Sam was bewildered, the hunt had turned out to not even be their kind of gig. A trigger for Dean was Sam getting hurt, that normally brought out all the nightmares to play but he _hadn't_ gotten hurt. Sam actually expected to be the one with nightmares for the night courtesy of Dean's swan dive into the _'vat of hell'_ as he'd secretly termed it.

He rubbed Dean's cheek as he murmured, "You're okay… I got you."

_Dean held his breath before looking into his little brother's face, his little brother that he'd just pulled out of a vat of black goo. After killing all the spiders that had attacked Sam he'd managed to fall into the only tank of anything in the whole building. His little brother that he couldn't keep breathing. His little brother that died once again in his arms. He'd done CPR until he couldn't go on… he sobbed at the stillness that was so not his little brother. His bundle of energy little brother… it couldn't end like this. He couldn't take it… not again. He pulled Sam's limp form close and sobbed into his chest as he begged him, "Don't go, Sammy. Please." _

As Dean sobbed out, "_Don't go, Sammy… please_."

He pulled Dean close as he whispered, "Dean I'm right here, dude. Wake up for me now… please." In the background he heard a tune playing and vaguely it registered as his phone going off. He chose to ignore it for his big brother that wouldn't wake up.

_Dean looked up from Sam and tilted his head as he listened to his brother's voice then he looked back down at Sammy's still form. He was going crazy he decided and he couldn't even muster the energy to care. He asked Sammy, "What do you want me to do?"_

Sam heard Dean say "… _do_?" He watched Dean struggle to breath as he cried in his sleep.

Sam answered firmly, "Wake up… _just wake up."_

_Dean heard, "… up." and looked closer, Sammy's lips were not moving. He didn't understand what was going on. So he asked his little brother, "What's going on?"_

Sam heard Dean mumble, "… going on?" Sam leaned down and said loudly in Dean's ear, "Wake up!" giving him a shake.

_Dean fell back in shock at the shouted, "Wake up!" It was Sammy, but Sammy was laying across his knees… dead. Then it registered, "Wake up…" so he was asleep? How do you wake up in a dream? He thought for a second then smacked himself in the face as he shouted at himself to wake up. He would love for this to only be a dream… for his little brother to be alive._

Dean jerked in his sleep but other than that he didn't move. Sam was feeling desperate when he had a flash of brilliance. He dug in Dean's front pocket of his jeans, with a muttered, "Sorry man." Finding his treasure he'd been hunting he flicked open the Zippo and smiled as its flame shot up. Looking down once again at Dean as he said, "Sorry D… but you gotta wake up." He held the flame close enough to Dean's face to be uncomfortable but not burn him… that was a last resort.

_Dean was startled by the heat suddenly attacking his cheek… he swiped at it. It didn't go away. He tried to pull away and groaned at the discomfort as the heat intensified. _

Suddenly Dean gasp and shot straight up almost smashing the top of his head against Sam's chin.

"Dean." Sam breathed out, surprised that it had worked.

Dean looked at Sam… his very much alive little brother and yanked him into a hug before pushing away and removing himself from the bed. After several steps he turned and stared at Sammy.

"You okay?" Sammy asked as he closed the Zippo and pocketed it.

Dean scrubbed at his face with one hand while the other moved up to his hair and ran through it as he mumbled out, "Just peachy."

Sam smiled as he climbed off the bed and said, "You wouldn't wake up."

Dean could hear the scared undertone but couldn't move past he'd been laying in Sam's arms… _what had he said in his sleep_?

"Dean." Sam said softly as if talking to a skittish colt, "You need to let me check your head."

"Why?" Dean asked as he watched his little brother.

"Because you didn't wake up when I talked to you or when I shook you and yelled in your ear." He said advancing on him.

Dean backed up until he was against a wall. He flinched when Sam followed him and grabbed him by the shoulders. He looked away.

"Dean… I'm right here. Tell me what happened." Sam demanded looking deep into his eyes.

Dean suddenly felt like he was bearing his soul for the world to see but it was Sammy so he said, "You kept dying… no matter what I did _you kept dying_…" He slid down the wall.

Sam followed him down as he asked, "Like mystery spot?"

Dean glanced at Sam and then bit his lip before he whispered, "It sucked."

Sammy smiled as he leaned his forehead close to Dean's with his hand on the back of Dean's neck he whispered, "We're together… we're both okay…"

Dean closed his eyes and touched foreheads with his brother. He sighed as he took a deep breath. Then he pulled back and leaned his head against the wall as he watched Sam.

Sam looked at him for several seconds before he stood and pulled something from his pocket as he told Dean, "You really need to be a lighter sleeper, dude." as he tossed the object in his hand towards Dean.

Dean caught it and then looked down at the lighter in his hand and back up at Sam. It slowly dawned on him where Sam had gotten his lighter and he murmured as he stood. "Firebug."

Sam said with a look over his shoulder, "Just call me Pyro."

Dean's laughter filled the air and Sam smiled. _Mission accomplished_. Done with the dwelling on the dream.

THE END


End file.
